New Delhi, Aug. 23: The government's official publicity arm today shared with its nearly million Twitter followers posts by activists criticising Pakistan's alleged human rights violations in Balochistan, lending a fresh edge to a controversial diplomatic sword unsheathed by the Prime Minister earlier this month.

The Press Information Bureau's act today followed "retweets" - a mechanism by which a Twitter user shares a post with his or her followers - yesterday of a post on a news interview with a Baloch activist in Geneva.

The "retweets" follow two references by Narendra Modi this month to Pakistan's human rights record in Balochistan, first in an all-party meeting and then in his Independence day address.

No previous Indian Prime Minister has used August 15 to publicly highlight the Baloch struggle that Pakistan frequently blames New Delhi of fomenting, though successive governments have quietly backed the movement. Modi's move has divided the strategic community between those who consider it "bold" and others who think it "risky".

By afternoon, the PIB had distanced itself from the retweets put out by its official Twitter handle, saying that it was the handiwork of a "young official". But till late evening, it had not undone its "retweets", as it had earlier.

"The official has just joined the social media team and was posted at All India Radio before," said Frank Noronha, director-general of PIB. "He used his news sense to retweet some tweets related to Balochistan since our Prime Minister Narendra Modi too has spoken on the issue in the recent times."

The "young official" had not acted as a part of any conscious policy, Noronha said.

"We have now asked the social media unit not to endorse any such tweets and statements," Noronha, the government's chief spokesperson said.

Noronha denied initiating any disciplinary action against the official, saying it was not a "major issue".

The Twitter messages the PIB shared today were posted by Baloch activist Abdul Nawaz Bugti, and were related to charges of treason levelled against five activists from the Pakistan state who had praised Modi for his recent comments.

"It might be surprising for the world to know about Baloch leaders being booked for appreciating @PMOIndia," Bugti said, referring to the Indian PM's official Twitter handle. "It is not surprising for us. Baloch who merely participated in protests against Baloch genocide were abducted/killed."

Modi has not walked back on his comments on Balochistan, but the foreign office remains cautious about allowing Pakistan to claim an equivalence with India, which has long accused Islamabad of fostering the secessionist movement in Kashmir.

Last Thursday, three days after Modi's comments, the foreign office suggested he had been misinterpreted.

"Let us understand the context in which the Prime Minister made the comments that you are referring to," foreign ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. "Several people from Balochistan and PoK, including Gilgit-Baltistan, had messaged him, had been writing to him following his comments at the all party meeting on 12th of August in which he had flagged the atrocities being committed on the people of Balochistan."

If the "retweets" today - and yesterday - were indeed an error of judgement, as Noronha appeared to suggest, the PIB is in familiar territory.

Many pointed out that this is not the first time that the Twitter handle of the PIB has left the government scurrying for cover.

In December last year, an image posted by the agency showed Modi looking down at Chennai from the window of a helicopter, but it was crudely altered to show sharply focused images of both Modi as well as a flooded landscape far below.